What are Viruses - Overview and Prevention

What are viruses? How do they affect our health?

Sometimes, when a person gets sick, they go to the doctor, only to be told that they have a virus and that there is nothing the doctor can do. If you arent familiar with these bugs, its important to know what viruses are, and how they can affect you.

Do you know how you can catch viruses? And what about avoiding them? Is that possible? By having a better understanding of viruses and how to prevent and fight them, you can help to keep yourself healthy not only through flu season, but every single day.

What are viruses? Without getting too technical, viruses are tiny packets of DNA or RNA. They attack host cells, which then causes the body to recognize the virus as an infection and try to fight it. The fear with many of them is their ability to continuously mutate, which helps the virus to be resilient, but causes people to be much more susceptible to them.

The good news is that many people with strong immune systems dont get sick from the viruses that they come into contact with, because there is no way for the tiny pieces of DNA to attach to their bodies. Thats why its usually when a healthy adult is feeling run down and not taking care of themselves that they wind up becoming ill with a cold or the flu.

Doctors will tell you that the incubation period of a virus, such as a cold virus, is seven to 14 days, but there are times that you wont actually catch a cold, because it really depends on how able your body is to fight the viruses that may be in it.

What are viruses treated with? Generally, there is no treatment for most of the illnesses that are caused by viruses, but new antiviral medications are now coming into play for illnesses like HIV, AIDS and certain flus. How effective they actually are, is another matter altogether.

What are viruses prevented with, then? In the meantime, the best thing we can do to protect against viruses is to keep them from entering our bodies whenever possible. One of the ways to do this is to wash our hands frequently. Use hot water and a natural soap, and give your hands a good scrub. New studies show that the water you wash your hands with should be as hot as you can stand to ensure that viruses and bacteria are killed. There are also specific times when its especially important to make sure that your hands are clean.

Firstly, do not eat until you have washed your hands, as this is one of the most common ways that people spread viruses. In addition, never touch the eyes, nose or mouth unless you have just thoroughly washed your hands. Even though you may not be eating, when you touch these parts of your body, you are giving viruses an inlet.

What are viruses best thwarted by? Your immune system. You should thus try to keep your immune system up by eating healthily, getting plenty of sleep and exercise, as well as taking immune boosting herbs and supplements. Its also a good idea to consider taking probiotics daily to help keep the intestines healthy and strong, as they are the biggest part of our immune system.

When you know more about 'what are viruses', you will be better able to protect yourself and your family against them, identify them if you become ill with them, and know when its time to seek help from your health care practitioner.

The good news is that, in most cases when you get a virus, it will go away on its own in about seven to 10 days, and youll be feeling as good as new. Thus, avoid rushing into taking antibiotics, when they likely wont do any good anyway, certainly not directly against viruses. Get plenty of rest when youre feeling ill, drink plenty of fluids, give your immune system a boost, and youll be feeling better in no time.

With a better understanding of 'what are viruses', you can find out more by reading the other related articles and pages.

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